A major reason we embarked on this journey was to instill in Ava and Kayan the same respect for other cultures and curiosity about our world that Sandeep and I value. We have been so focused on exposing our kids to the world that we haven’t really thought that about how they are processing all of this.
Today’s conversation with Ava made us consider how she and Kayan are digesting this experience. I was walking on the beach in flip-flops and the inevitable happened – they eventually tore at the toe. On our awkward wobble back home, Ava asked, “Mama, I like those shoes. Can you keep the good one and buy just one that works?” I responded that shoes are sold in twos because most people have two feet. She considered this and said, “But why not a million feet?” I asked her if she had ever seen a person with a million feet. Her reply was, “Not yet, but maybe I’ll see one in Namibia.”
Sandeep and I have ongoing discussions on our Africa plans. We continue to oscillate between paranoia and rationalization and the kids have inevitably heard more than we know. I don’t know what images they have conjured in their heads about the wilds, but I’d love to know what it is that we said that made it possible for Ava to conceive of a million legged person.
This seems like a good occasion to share Ava’s most recent self portraits. It’s not a million legs, but there is imagination in there for sure.
